if republicans do not agree to that, is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff? >> oh, absolutely. again, there's no prospect in an agreement that doesn't involve the rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. all those americans get a tax cut under the framework under the first $250,000 of their income. in some sense, it's a tax cut for all americans. it's just for people who make more than that, we're going to ask them to pay a modestly amount more. >> that's hard to understand given how much going over the fiscal cliff would hurt the economy. why is going over the fiscal cliff worth it for just this one component? if you can get the other components, why wouldn't you take that? >> good question. thanks for asking. what we're trying to do is put in place a comprehensive balance set of fiscal reforms that put us back on the path to living within our means and create room for investing to make the economy stronger, make sure we're protecting medicare for future generations, and forcing the government to use the taxpayers' resources more wisely. in that conte